Okay, Flat cars were dark red when I bought them. I scored the lines between the "wood" slats I also "stressed" the decks. I painted the cars flat gull grey and sanded with 800 grit. I applied several coats pale grey,black, burnt sennia. Tell me what you think. thanks again
Freelancing MCRR/NYC Northern Division - Angelo
I don't care for the parallel scratches on the bottom car deck. I imagine, but don't know, that heavy stuff moves sideways or back and forth when being loaded. The weathering below the stake pockets on the middle car is too sharply demarcated.
I applaud your efforts. Practicing on throw away cars is a great idea.
I have no idea what to think about trucks any more. Based on photos in a recent thread (the Statler photo of the day?) I am now puzzled by how to weather trucks, in fact I was going to start a thread on that. Indoor lighting never approximates bright sun, and to photograph properly, maybe they should be much lighter than what we would consider a realistic weathering job. Plus they start out black and are in the shadows.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Hey there Big Daddy - I know what you mean about the trucks, it's a tough call. I was going for drag marks across the deck based on a CSX flat I saw in Durand MI. I appreciate your comments and insight, thanks :-)
Cody's workshop had a great feature on weathering flat car decks to look like wood using various tans, browns and grays. I believe it was posted in early 2013. It's certainly worth a look.
Weathering is an art, so don´t expect to achieve results like those weathering Rembrandts show in here. The trick of achieving a good result is subtleness and thought and these have to be exercised quite a lot before you achieve a pro´s result.
Your weathering job still looks overdone, not weathered, but decrepit. Any railroad would sideline such a car and refuse to transport it.
Don´t let that discourage you and continue - you are on the right track! I am sure you will join the ranks of the weathering experts!
Looks good to me. Practice, practice, practice.
Modeling on the cheap
fourt Looks good to me. Practice, practice, practice.
Just to add on your brush work seems to have massivly improved since the last post! keep up the good work, and keep us updated.
-Brian
Lost in the snow
Weathering is a challenge since I tend to over-due things. My wife always reminds me that less is more. She's right again. She would agree that practicing on cheap cars is a fantastic way of improving technique.
Perhaps this technique would work for you: putting less weathering into cars that were newer than those that weren't. You'd expect a 20-30 year car to look more 'loved' than one >5 years. All of my cars get a nice dull coat finish to remove the shiny toy-like appearance. After that I apply artist chalk and a mix of artist paints (burnt umber, burnt sienna, and rust) to the car. How much is heavily dependent on car age.
Hi Kass,
My wife, believe it or not, is a art major she says the exact same thing! The "look" I was going for was a car at the end of it's service life and to be shunted to a yard siding and may be used for M.O.W detail or one last hurrah haul before going to the scarp yard. So far I have been using dull coat and acrylics. This weekend I am going to buy some chalks at the hobby shop and work with those as they seem to be the favorite among many modelers.
One a personal note, thanks everybody for the words of encouragement and good advise.
BigDaddyPracticing on throw away cars is a great idea.
There is (almost) no such thing. Most cars can be salvaged or used for kitbashing projects. You can remove the X2F coupler and install a Kadee coupler box with No5. The trucks can be removed and holes filled in with styrene or spare sprue piece. File the sprue flat and drill hole, install Kadee or plastic Accurail trucks.
Speaking of trucks. Plain bearing trucks (the ones you have there) would probably have a little less rust and more on the order of dirt/oil (not too much of the oil).
Well BMMECNYC, Lets say I wouldn't cry it fell to the floor and broke apart, If I were to leave these on a "send to scrap" siding they will serve a purpose. I haven't even begun to think about couplers, rolling stock I have two, three types and it's had for me to tell the difference between the two types of Kadee couplers I have and then there are the "old" style that are on these flat cars. Not to mention the style that comes with the Mantua "heavy" series. I am on a learning curve. Last "railroad I had was a flat 4x8 sheet two track two switch job that kept my son, daughter and I busy for a couple of years until the scouts took the forefront. Well sorrt to prattle on.....maybe I'll start a thread about couplers and how to tell the difference. Have a good day :-)
One thing I would ask is the extent to which you are basing weathering on photos. Until you have a lot of experience, weathering without photographic references is much more difficult to pull off, and even then references are still worthwhile.
You mentioned using burnt sienna, a rusty orange-red. Unless you're representing a steel deck, it may not be appropriate except around steel fasteners. Most wood decks weather to a mixture of grayish colors like those above.
To weather plastic deck, I usually start by adding any gouges and/or other texture, then begin dry-brushing acrylics. I often begin with black, then build up dry-brushed layers of grays and tans, finishing by hitting individual boards. I'll also employ water color pencils and powdered chalks, again with similar colors.
This ExactRail NP car has a laser-cut taskboard deck that was weathered in much the same way. Steel casting surfaces above the bolster and draft gear are flush with the wood, and weather with rust and other different wear compared to the rest of the deck (the UP car in the first prototype photo is of a similar type).
Rob Spangler
Hi Rob, I used burnt sienna in the trucks with some brown iron oxide. The flat cars were red, abused scratched when purchased. I clean the decks as best as I could and used flat grey primer then passed over with 80 grit. Then I used a utility knife to score between the boards. If you would be so kind as to explain "dry brush" with acrylics - does that mean wiped on a towel to removed excess? I do not mean to be thick I just want to learn to get better. Hats off to you if that is your work you posted, that is a goal well worth reaching. Thanks for your advice and I hope you will answer my question :-) Angelo
Nickel Plate Road If you would be so kind as to explain "dry brush" with acrylics - does that mean wiped on a towel to removed excess?
Yes, that's more or less it. Leave only a limited amount of paint on the brush, and apply it to the work almost dry. This will leave streaks along the "grain" of the wood. With practice the technique can be controllable and yield predicatable results, useful for a lot of weathering.
Nickel Plate RoadWell sorrt to prattle on.....maybe I'll start a thread about couplers and how to tell the difference.
Kadee has a chart that shows the evolution of the HO scale coupler from the late 1930s to the present day. Found here:
http://www.kadee.com/animation/c1.htm
Notes: Not pictured is Atlas' oversized accumate style coupler, a possibly a few others, but that should get you started. Also note that some of the couplers are mounted upside down in the photo. This was likely because those couplers have draft gear boxes and it was easier to mount them that way.